Chapter: 514 – Desire and Needs

Tala knew she was smiling as she watched the three Sunnydalian arcanes practically salivate at the possibility of access to Honored—Paragon in human terms—levels of power.

“Yes.” Lyn said simply, her own smile polite. “Due to the nature of our hold, it accrues power gradually in a manner that is visible but sequestered, inaccessible without proper authorization. I will emphasize that it is not an infinite resource, but is abundant enough for us to trade it under the right circumstances.”

Tala was honestly torn. Due to the nature of Kit, no matter how long the arcanes stayed within—so long as they didn’t try to destroy the power—they would only ‘use up’ as much power as they could hold when they left. To her and Kit, that meant that an arcane moving in for a lifetime and never leaving would be less of a usage than one stepping in for five minutes, filling themselves to the brim and walking out.

Lyn had, of course, prepared a private, tiered list to reflect some of that in the pricing that she would aim to extract. The plan was to sell ‘sessions’ that were cheaper per hour the longer they were, but which would end should the arcane leave Ironhold at any time and for any reason.

Beyond that, though, Tala hadn’t needed to inquire.

The three arcanes exchanged long looks before they turned back to Lyn with obvious eagerness. It was Liam who spoke next, “Are the facilities such that long stretches can be spent within, in relative comfort? Or are they like the chambers rented out by the Major Houses? Little larger than a coffin for our burial.”

There was tension in the air, but something about their positioning, body language, and tonality made Tala think that they would be excited either way. Lyn gave a soft smile, one with almost motherly understanding. “Due to methods that we will not reveal, we can allow you access to power at this density anywhere within our hold. As I said, even if you do not wish to trade for this, you will be able to see the magic yourself throughout our home. It will simply only be accessible for the times agreed to. During those times? You may go about any activity you choose—so long as it is allowed at all—without the density you are submerged in, and have access to absorb and manipulate, being affected.”

The three visibly swallowed.

Tala almost laughed due to the synchronicity of it, but she held her features stoic.

There was going to be a lot of negotiation.

Negotiation that Tala and Rane weren’t needed for.

Even so, Tala was not willing to leave Lyn alone, and she didn’t feel that exposing the Talons would be wise at this time. She wanted them to be a hidden card, just in case. Moreover, inviting Ron or other talons out would make their quick loss of power evident, especially over the span of a long negotiation session.

Thus, Rane and Tala settled in to be Lyn’s protectors for the afternoon.

At least we have a pleasant scene to look down upon.

* * *

Tala stared at the strange material before her.

She and Lyn were in her sanctum, sitting in comfortable chairs, regarding a funny lump of substance on the table between them.

It looked like a cloud as it rested on the ground. Or maybe it more closely resembled a bundle of wispy cotton or wool, but far, far lighter than either.

“This is some sort of… what is it again?”

Lyn shook her head, patient as always, though she had a knowing smile regardless. “Cloud elemental fleece.”

“And this is spun and woven into clear stone blocks.”

She gave Tala a look, the smile briefly fading for an incredulous expression. “Now you’re being purposely obtuse. The words are odd, but the fleece is woven into clear boards that can be used for transparent constructions that don’t dissipate for at least a few years if properly treated and cared for.”

Tala sighed. “And we got…?”

“A dozen bundles of the fleece, a treatise on the refinement techniques, and ten of the boards, treated properly to last at least a year without any maintenance.”

“Why did we get these?”

Lyn sighed, took a sip of her tea, and answered succinctly. “Several Constructionists indicated a desire for them, should we have the opportunity to acquire the specimens.”

“And we have the opportunity.”

“Oh, yes. Honestly, the Sunnydalians would have a truly astounding trade deficit with us if we let them. Unfortunately, there is simply nowhere that we could use that banked value to our advantage. We expect to have a similar issue with anyone we encounter who might accept such.”

“What did we give and what did we get?”

Lyn gave her a long look. “First, you were literally in the room. Second, do you actually care about all the little details?”

“…fine. Broad strokes? Your summaries are always appreciated.” Tala took a quick draw of coffee, giving her friend an innocent look.

Her adjunct huffed and shook her head, a smile returning to her face. “Fine, but I still don’t see why you don’t just remember what was decided.”

“It was boring to experience, Lyn. I don’t want to relive it again even in memory.”

-And you want to have a bit more time with your friend before she rushes back to her own bureaucratic work.-

…we need to schedule some time to just catch up.

-I’ll get on it after this if you don’t manage to make it happen on your own.-

Thank you.

Lyn took a long breath and let it out slowly, but she didn’t object further. She simply took another sip of tea and dove in, “Our citizens can trade with theirs. One hundred Sunnydalians will be visiting Irondale for the next week, where they will be fully subject to our laws, and will not use any power, simply be immersed in it. They will even completely empty themselves before exiting—that was less of a lift than I expected, actually. They will have to pay for their own food and housing from the citizenry while they are there. Beyond that, the officials of Sunnydale will review the application of any of our residents who wish to join their community, and they will not prevent any of their citizenry from applying for residency in Ironhold.” Lyn took a breath, clearly ticking through other items in her mind before finally coming to another that Tala would be interested in. “We will also have passage included for the time we are here, as the village is still on the move, and we will be given one of the magical constructions that allow for ‘nearby’ communication between the traveling settlements.”

“And nearby means within fifty miles, right?”

“When on its own? Yes, fifty miles is about the limit of it. Even so, it can be amplified to function for up to two-hundred miles if the other side is similarly amplified.”

“Not further?”

“It could be increased to work further, technically, but as no one else has done so, there isn’t much point. There is also an ever increasing potential for the form of communication to be detectable and to draw unwanted attention.”

“Right. And they don’t use the Archive?”

“Not for communication. There are apparently a lot of technical reasons that I didn’t ask about—neither did you, so don’t complain. They did request that we limit our Archive communications while here, as well. While Archive connections can’t generally be intercepted, they seemingly can be detected in sufficient quantities, or by the ‘right’ creatures.”

“Fair enough. Ironhold has been informed?”

The author’s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

“Yes. We’ve already altered our connection to honor this request with the help of Master Simon’s group… as you well know. Did you want me to summarize my understanding of what he and his team did?”

Tala hesitated for a while, remembering the information herself. “No… Thank you, Lyn.”

Lyn gave a little smile, then cut to the point. “So, do you want to get dinner in a couple of days?”

Tala only hesitated a moment before she grinned. “I’m that transparent?”

“You have literally perfect memory, and while I know it wasn’t the most enlightening thing for you to listen to, you were paying attention.”

She sighed. “Fine, fine. Yes. I’d love to grab dinner.”

“Wonderful. Shall Rane join us?”

Tala felt torn. She loved her husband and enjoyed spending time with him, but he had been encouraging her to get some time with Lyn, too. He’d noticed that she missed her friend… “No, I think it will just be us.”

“Alright, then. I’ll arrange the exact timing with Alat.” A sparkle of humor entered Lyn’s eyes. “Do you need me to tell you where your husband is right now?”

Tala huffed a laugh. “No, I know he’s looking at the flight-engines with Master Simon’s team—now that they’ve made the changes to Ironhold—and the local constructionists.” She gave Lyn a flat look, only ruined by the twinkle she knew was in her eyes. “Come on, Mistress Lyn. I was in the room when it was discussed, and I have a perfect memory. Why would I need you to tell me?”

Lyn took on a faux look of contrition and gave a shallow bow. “Of course, Mistress Tala. I apologize and abase myself before you.”

“Very well, you shall be forgiven… this time. Don’t let it happen again.”

“You are too kind.” Lyn straightened, grinning. “How is Terry doing, by the way?”

“Oh, he’s having a blast. That crazy old lady creature is apparently giving him a merry chase, and he couldn’t be happier. That likely means he’s courting death, but he enjoys the hunt so…” She shrugged.

“Do we need to go after him?”

Tala shook her head. “He conveyed through Alat that he doesn’t want us to. He’ll either get her, get bored, or die. For the first two, he’ll come after us himself. For the last, I’ll re-corporealize him wherever we are at the time. He’ll lose a lot of potential mass since I won’t have his current body to work with, but he enjoys eating well enough that it shouldn’t hamper him too much except in the very short term.”

“Very well. Do you mind willing me into my office?”

“Not at all.” With the gate to Ironhold already set up in one of the main markets of Sunnydale—where most of the traveling village’s mini-holds were also anchored—Tala couldn’t open another portal for Lyn to step through herself.